Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies with Real Fruit Chews

This could be the end to my blogging for a while

She’s a pistol!  When this 9 week old puppy gets bursts of energy, look out!  I’ve been lucky since it’s a long weekend and every time she starts feeling her oats, I let her and Shane out side to run it off.  Unfortunately for the newly planted flowers, she finds things to amuse herself. Shane tolerates her outside and will play with her inside the house.

He’ll put her whole head in his mouth when they play. He’s very careful not to step on her or put his entire weight on her when they are laying down playing.  But even Shane has his limits. Don’t fool around with the toy that he’s playing with at that moment!  She’s a quick learner when it comes to Shane (I would be as well if I looked those big old fangs in the eye!).

As I began this post, little Zoey may force a slow down in blogging because she is a bundle of energy and with marathon training beginning again plus entertaining the puppies (as in Zoey AND Shane) I have my limits.  I’ll be getting up half an hour earlier as well as planning on getting up to take Zoey once or twice during the night in an effort to avoid wet bedding (Zoey’s bed NOT mine).

This morning a 75 minute run was on schedule.  Too much playing with the ball yesterday left Shane a little sore so he only went 2 miles with me.  I put Zoey in her crate and went for my run. It was tough focusing on the running since I was concerned that she wouldn’t settle in her crate. When I got home, 74 minutes (that’s right, I couldn’t stand be away even one minute more!) later, she was quiet at a mouse in her crate. What a good girl!  Weekday mornings, I’ll get up, let her out then put her in her crate so I can do my core, weights and run with Shane. I’m sure she’ll be fine but it will take time for both her and I to get used to the routine.

She’s an exciting little puppy but to be honest, when she gets going, I wonder just what I’ve taken on.  It’ll be at least a year before she can be my alternate distance running partner.  The warm weather is too much for Shane and his heavy fur coat.  He’ll be my 6 – 8 miler and Zoey, well I expect her to do up to 14 – 16 one day with no problem. That’s a long, LONG ways off but that’s why we got her. My protector. My running partner. Same as Shane.

COOKIES!

The ingredients: a lot of oatmeal, peanut butter and 100% real fruit chews. 

The texture:  Soft and tender. 

The taste:  Peanut butter with a hint of almond.  Sweet and delightful. 

Makes 3 dozen cookies depending on how large/small you make them.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) + 2 TBS salted butter
• 3/4 cup natural, no stir creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups quick cooking oatmeal
• 2 TBS 100% whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup fruit bites or raisins.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line baking sheets with parchment or use a non stick baking sheet but do not grease a baking sheet.

Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars.  Add the egg then the almond extract.

Beat in the oatmeal, flour, and baking soda.  Stir in the fruit.

Drop by 3/4 TBS onto the baking sheet, forming round balls.  Bake 12 – 15 minutes.

The day after baking these cookies, half the plate was gone. I only had two…where oh where could the others have gone?!   Thinking…TED or maybe… SAMMY D?!

What’s your favorite dried fruit? Did you know that dried fruits are a good source of vitamins and minerals provided you buy fruit juice sweetened or unsweetened? That’s why we like raisins so much, there is absolutely NO SWEETENER at all. 100% natural.